ElectroCaine
by WhatNow91
Summary: Horatio's life is on the line. DuCaine obviously. R&R. This is my first, hope ya'll enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
"Morning sir", a police officer said while passing the head of the crime Lab, Lt Horatio Caine.

Horatio nodded his head in acknowledgement to the passing officer and kept his gaze firm on the people passing the MDPD building.  
He was deep in his own thoughts. The one case he was working on were taking so much time and yet a new serial killer case broke out- which obviously took priority one.  
There were already 4 murders committed in the Miami jurisdiction. The victims were chosen at random and the only thing the team found was that the victims had in common were blue eyes and they had a age range from around 20 to 40. Other than that they had no relation or link whatsoever.

Horatio walked up to the boardroom where the team were already gathered. He wanted to discuss the matter on the serial killer and what the evidence was pointing at.

"What have we got ?" he briskly asked.  
"H, we've got nothing from the 2 abandoned motor vehicles. No DNA , hairs or anything" Eric said.  
"Yeah Horatio , I processed the aluminium pipe which we initially thought was the murder weapon. But it's as clean as a whistle. " Calleigh replied.  
"Well, Eric take Ryan with you and go through the cars again. Carefully. We have to get this guy."  
"That's if it's a guy." Natalia said shyly.  
"What do you mean?" Horatio asked.  
"Well I've processed some of the electrical wires that we found at the second crime scene, I swabbed them for trace, but no trace came up. I found female DNA instead. And as far as I know, we had no female victims yet."  
"So, either we've missed something or there's another victim out there." Horatio said annoyingly.

At that moment his phone rang. "This is Horatio."  
It was Frank.  
"Horatio we've got a situation. Another crime scene with electrical wires, a couple of needles and a victim."  
"A Male victim?", Horatio asked.  
"Nope. Female this time round."  
" I'm on my way." Horatio said sternly.

Horatio put his phone in his pocket and rubbed his forehead.  
"What's up H? Do we have another scene?" Eric asked.  
Horatio sighed. "Yes Eric, it seems that way. You're coming with me and the rest of you, let's start getting something definitive in this case."

Horatio and Eric left in H's Hummer. Eric noticed that Horatio was agitated and maybe tired. So he said nothing during the short drive.

Shortly after, they arrived at the abandoned Warehouse where the crime scene was.  
"Good day Horatio." Frank said cheerfully.  
Horatio noticed Frank's cheerful mood and just nodded to him.  
Frank decided not to be bothered by Horatio's agitation and took him inside to the victim.

"What have we got Alex?" Horatio asked in a deep voice.  
" I'm afraid it's bad news, Horatio. Female, 25 years old and well, executed exactly the same as the other victims we've had in the last 2 weeks." Alex replied.  
Horatio sighed and turned away, scanning the scene.  
"Horatio, is everything alright?" Alex asked quietly, knowing that something was clearly bothering him.  
He slowly looked up to her and said "Everything is fine."  
"C'mon Horatio, how long have I know you to tell that that's not the truth?"  
Horatio gave her a stern look. "Everything's fine." and then he turned to Eric.  
"Eric please get the victim's DNA, and compare it to the results that Natalia found. See if you get a match." Eric nodded and Horatio returned to his hummer.

He slowly walked to the hummer, noticing something on the windscreen. As he came nearer, he saw that it was a piece of paper. He looked around for any activity before taking it off the car. Finally he took it, and it read: YOU'RE BEING WATCHED LT. CAINE.  
Horatio felt a bit sick inside, but being the brave man he is, he sticked the note inside his jacket and drove off back to the lab.

While driving he was thinking about the three previous notes he received earlier in the week. After the second note Horatio thought that somebody wanted revenge- to scare him maybe. But after the third, things got serious. He received the third note yesterday morning in his hummer which was standing in front of his house. All four of these notes were starting to get personal and serious. Horatio told nobody about this, and it's been bothering him for a week now.

He arrived at the Crime Lab and sat in his car for a while, studying every person he could see entering and leaving the lab .  
"Hey Horatio!" Calleigh said happily an tapped on the door.  
"What's up? Why are you just sitting here?"  
"Uh, I'm just...never mind".  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine" he replied with a faint smile.  
"Ya know you can talk to me about anything right?" she said.  
"I know, thanks" he said, as they both entered the lab and got in the elevator.  
Horatio tried to hide his feelings the best way he could, although he knew Calleigh would find a way to get it out of him. He had such a weak spot for her. And at that moment Calleigh and Horatio looked up and stared into each other's eyes.  
She touched his forearm,  
"Look Handsome, anything, okay?"  
Horatio nodded appreciatively.  
The elevator doors opened and Calleigh left to the Ballistics lab and Horatio was left standing there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Horatio was sitting in his office looking at all the evidence gathered. He was trying to figure out what the motive could be. He had no luck in finding it.  
Knock knock.  
"Alexx, got something?" He asked in hope.  
Alexx looked at him for a moment.  
"No Horatio. I found nothing further on the body. I was coming to see how you were doing."  
"Alex, I.."  
"You're fine, right?" she interrupted.  
He looked at her. "Yes"  
"Alright, just as long as you know I'm watching you." She said and left.  
Horatio left out a sigh.

He took out all 4 notes and studied them. All of the handwritings were generally the same, blue ink and scribbled. The first three notes had the same message : WATCH YOUR BACK LT.  
But the last one read : YOU'RE BEING WATCHED LT. CAINE.  
Horatio shrugged. He left the notes on his desk and went to find Eric. He was walking past DNA when Natalia called for him. "hey Horatio! Come here please!"  
"What do you got?"  
"So I ran the victim's DNA against that DNA I found earlier, and it wasn't a match."  
"No match? Any match in Codis?"  
"I ran the results state-wide and then through every database. No match."  
A puzzled Horatio stood there.  
"So you are telling me that our killer may be a woman?"  
"Yeah I know, it seems that way." Natalia replied.  
"Okay, let the team know and also tell Frank so that he can report to patrol."  
"Yes sir , will do so."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After a very restless night, Horatio was still laying in bed when the sun rose. He hadn't really slept in 4 days and he was tired but he couldn't get one good night's rest.  
After a while he decided to get up and get ready to tackle the day.

Horatio was still upstairs when a couple of gunshots went off outside his place. Alarmingly, he grabbed his gun and called Frank for back up. A bit scared to go downstairs, Horatio attempted to look outside a window to see if he can see anything. But still more gunfire went off. Finally, he slowly went down the stairs into the living room area. And he was very surprised to find that nothing in his living room was shot.

Bang! Glass shattered and one shot went very close to Horatio and a minute later he saw Frank opening the door. Feeling a bit odd, he felt a jolt of pain coming from his left arm, near his shoulder. Slowly but surely he sank to his knees holding his shoulder.  
"Horatio, are you okay?"  
No response.  
"Hey Horatio ! Are you...oh my God. Get me Fire Rescue immediately!" Frank ordered.  
He neared Horatio to see where the bullet strike was.  
"Horatio ?"  
"Frank, it's ...aaargh, it's... I'm okay. It's just my left shoulder."  
He tried to cover the bullet hole with his hand but it wasn't enough. Blood was still seeping out.  
"Hang on Horatio, the ambulance is almost here. "  
Frank saw that Horatio was in pain, and noticed that the shot wasn't a though-and-through but he wasn't sure.  
"Horatio?"  
"Yeah..? " he said breathless  
"Can I see if it's a through-and-through?"  
Horatio nodded.  
Frank studied Horatio's back carefully. "Well, I think it's still in you."  
At that moment the paramedics arrived. "Sir? "  
"This is Lt. Caine and he's been shot in the left shoulder." Frank responded.  
"Yes sir, we'll take him right a way to Dade-General."  
"Okay"  
The paramedics gathered Horatio on a stretcher and he was transported to the hospital.

"WHAT happened?" Calleigh asked again, terrified that she might've heard wrong.  
"Horatio got shot, in the shoulder. Calleigh, it doesn't seem serious and he's at the hospital getting the bullet out." Frank replied caringly, knowing that Calleigh cared very much for Horatio. "He's gonna be fine."  
Calleigh didn't know what to do, what to think. "Can we see him?"  
"Yeah probably, you need to be there for the bullet as well."  
"I uhm, I'll take Eric with me."  
"Yeah that's a good idea, I think Horatio will enjoy the company."  
"Okay, we'll see ya later Frank and thank you."  
"Pleasure Cal."

Calleigh felt miserable. But she went to get Eric at the Fingerprint lab.  
"Hey Cal!" He saw her approaching the door.  
"Hey Eric. Are you busy?"  
"Yeah I've got a couple of things to do. Why? What's up?"  
"I just ...was wondering if you wanted to come with me to see Horatio?"  
"Yes , no sure I'll come with you."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Calleigh and Eric arrived at Dade-General. Quickly a nurse directed them to Horatio's room.  
They found Horatio sitting up with a doctor examining his shoulder and chest. They stood outside for about a minute to let the doctor finish his inspection.  
"Everything seems well Lt. However, you'll feel pain trying to lift your arm, so I suggest not moving it for a week. You should be fine. You'll have to wear a shoulder wrap to keep your arm still. Just for a week though. And considering your line of work, no field work for you for a couple of weeks."  
"Yes, Doctor."  
"Well then, I'll release you as soon as possible. Just wait so that the nurse can give you the wrap as well as some bandages and gauge to clean and cover the wound."  
"Okay, thank you Doctor." Horatio replied.

"Good day" the Doctor greeted Eric and Calleigh as he exited the room.

"Hey H! How are you?" Eric asked.  
" Hey Eric. Feeling a bit under the weather but okay."  
Calleigh stood there not knowing what to say.  
Horatio finally spoke. "Hi Calleigh."  
"Hey." she said softly with tears in her eyes.  
Horatio and Calleigh shared a stare for a moment, when Eric asked "H, so do you know who was shooting at you?"  
"No idea Eric."  
"Ryan and Natalia is over at your place processing the scene. Do you maybe have any idea? Any threats maybe? Or something?"  
Horatio was thinking about the notes he got. But maybe that had nothing to do with him being shot. "No. No idea."  
"Alright H." he said not wanting to bother Horatio any further.

Eric got a call. "Yeah what's up? Oh really okay, I'll be right there."  
"Cal, you wanna stay still? I should go check out what the guys got at the scene."  
"Uhm... yeah sure. I'll stay a bit longer." She said and smiled to Eric.  
Eric left and Horatio and Calleigh were alone in the room.  
Calleigh was just standing there looking at Horatio when he interrupted her thoughts "Calleigh?"  
Calleigh then suddenly came close to Horatio. She looked into his blue eyes. "Horatio, I am so glad that you're okay." she said softly and hugged him slowly. Horatio slowly put his right arm around Calleigh in a attempt to hug her back. " I know sweetheart."  
After a while she'd let him go and sat down on a chair opposite him.  
"What?" Horatio asked after a while.

"Nothing. I'm just really happy your okay."  
"Yeah well I'd really like to know who shot me." he said stubbornly. "I'd like to get on it."  
"Horatio! You've just been shot and you already want to get on it? You're supposed to be resting." she scolded.  
Horatio looked at her for a moment before turning away and staring out a nearby window.

Calleigh's phone rang. "Calleigh"  
"Cal, we've got all the rounds from the shooting if you're ready to process."  
"Sure Eric, I'll be there in a few."  
Horatio still looked out of the window.  
"So, I'm gonna head back to the lab, Horatio."  
"Yeah." was all that came from him.  
Calleigh stared at him for a minute and then left.  
"Sir?" the nurse asked as she entered the room.  
"Oh " Horatio said very softly and sat down so that the nurse could put fresh bandages on the wound.  
When she'd finished, he quickly dressed and called Frank to pick him up.

Wearing only the formal shirt and suit pants that he was shot in, he went to the lab because he wanted Ryan to process the notes he got. To get some evidence.

He entered the lab and it was like thunder striked because every person in the lab quieted down and stared at the bloody-shirt wearing Lieutenant.  
Horatio didn't care about the people staring at him, he just wanted the notes to be processed. He passed the DNA lab where both Natalia and Ryan were.  
"Horatio what are you doing here? Are you ok?" Natalia asked surprised.  
"I'm fine thanks. Mr. Wolfe come with me please." Horatio responded.

Ryan left with Horatio to his office. When they entered Frank was also seated in Horatio's office.  
"Frank?" Horatio asked startled.  
"Horatio, what's going on?"  
"Frank, if I knew I would tell you." Frank looked at Horatio, knowing that he was telling the truth but something still seemed to bother him.  
"Now , Mr. Wolfe, please process these documents for trace evidence as well as fingerprints please."  
"Horatio, are these threats?" Ryan asked, reading the notes.  
Horatio gave a big sigh.  
"Yes Mr Wolfe. Frank, I've been getting these threats for the last 2 weeks now. Twice on my car, and twice in my car. And then I got shot today which can't be a coincidence."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Horatio, are you still safe at your place then?" Frank asked very concerned.  
Horatio smiled, looking down he said:  
" Don't think so, my friend."  
"Well if you want too you can stay at my place for a while."  
"You know what, thanks, but I've booked a room at some hotel. But thank you Frank."  
"Do you need extra protection?"  
"Uhm, yes I think just for tonight."  
"Okay then, I'll leave ya to it. See ya later."  
Frank turned and left Horatio's office.

After most of his team came to check in on him during the day, Horatio thought about one person. She wasn't there during the day along with the others. He wondered if she was somehow mad at him for coming to work as if nothing had happened. So he decided to put his mind to rest and went down to the Ballistics lab.

"Knock knock knock" Horatio greeted softly.  
"Hey." Calleigh replied.  
Horatio approached her desk and stood in front of her while she was comparing bullets  
"Are ya gonna stand there all day?" she asked.  
"No, I was just ...Calleigh, are you mad at me?" he asked blatantly.  
She did not answer for a while.  
"Yes, maybe I am." came the reply.  
"Why?"  
"Because Horatio, you are so damn stubborn."  
"I'm not. I just want to get this guy. I mean, it's only my shoulder. Nothing serious."  
"Nothing serious? Ha well I beg to differ. You were shot with a 308 round, a sniper round Horatio. Do you know if it was on target that you won't be standing here now?"  
Horatio took a moment to process what she was saying. He approached her and gently put his right hand on her shoulder.  
"Well I am here now, and that's why you can't stay mad at me." he said softly.  
"I know." There were silence for a while. "Where will you be staying?" she ask and moved away to get the next couple of bullets.  
"At a hotel. And yes, I will be having extra protection. Frank arranged it all." Horatio said quickly cause he knew Calleigh would demand it.  
"Oh, yes that's good. I suppose you'll be fine then.  
And Horatio..."  
She said before he left "...please be careful."  
"I will."

Horatio left the lab to get some clothes and stuff from his house first. They arrived slowly at his home. Horatio saw all the yellow crime scene tape covering the front door and the bullet holes in his department issued hummer for the first time.  
"Lieutenant..?" One officer asked after a while when Horatio made no attempt to get out.  
Honestly, he was a bit scared to go inside, so he took one officer with him.  
Slowly and steadily they walked inside. He took a look around and immediately saw his own pool of blood from where he was kneeling down, waiting for the ambulance. He walked past it. "I'll be right down." he said to the officer and went upstairs.  
After a while, Horatio was done and they were on their way to the hotel.

Arriving at the hotel, the officers scouted the place first and made sure that everything was in order - Frank's demands.  
"Right Lieutenant, everything's good. We'll be outside keeping an eye if you need us."  
"Thank you gentlemen."  
Horatio entered the two bedroom room and decided to take a shower.

He was starting to absorb everything that has happened that day. He was feeling tired, exhausted, the pain from his shoulder was immense, the adrenaline he felt when he shot. So he entered the bathroom and took off his shirt, examining the bullet hole in the shirt. He shrugged, and looked at his shoulder. He'll be needing somebody to redress the wound after he's done, he thought to himself. So he got into the shower and thought that he would call Alexx when he's done.  
So when Horatio finished, and putting on some clothes, he heard a knock at the door.  
He thought it would be the police officers trying to find out if everything was alright, instead he was greeted by Natalia and Calleigh.  
"Hi Horatio! How are you feeling?" Natalia asked happily.  
"Hey Horatio " Calleigh greeted.  
"Hey Ladies, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he joked.  
"We just came by to see if you're alright and so on."  
"Yeah, we saw your officers in the hallway, guess they were making rounds." Calleigh said.  
They all stepped into the kitchen area.  
"Can I make some coffee?" Horatio offered.  
"How about you sit down and I'll do it." Nat said.  
Horatio took a seat next to Calleigh and let Natalia do it.  
"So how's your shoulder feeling?" Calleigh asked.  
"It hurts a bit, but I do need somebody to redress the wound for me." he hinted.  
"I'll do it. Where's the dressings?" Calleigh asked.  
"Wait, I'll go get it.". He said and went to his bedroom.  
He took the bag with the bandages and gauge and noticed something on the bed. Another note : YOURE NOT SAFE LT. CAINE.  
Horatio swallowed hard. Slowly he put the bag down, as to not make noise, and walked out of his bedroom when he saw...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Horatio swallowed hard. Slowly he put the bag down, as to not make any noise, and walked out of his bedroom, when he saw...

... That everything was still fine, that both Calleigh and Natalia were still where he'd left them. Horatio gave a big sigh of relief and approached them with the note. Calleigh and Natalia both saw Horatio steadily walking towards them, but he was as white as a ghost.

"Horatio ?" they both said concerningly.  
"I ... I uhm ..." He struggled to get the words out. "I ...I think I got another note." he said.  
At that moment Calleigh grabbed her gun and started checking out the whole place.  
"Calleigh, I don't think they are here anymore." he said.  
"Horatio, what does the note say?" Natalia asked.  
"It says : YOURE NOT SAFE ."  
"Oh my gosh!" Calleigh said loudly. She was in Horatio's bedroom.  
"Calleigh what's wrong?" Natalia yelled.  
She came out to them, showing a test tube full of blood, and a label that read: LT. CAINE'S BLOOD!  
Calleigh thought hard about what to do about the situation for a moment.  
"Horatio, when you were at your place, did you see anything out of place? Any disturbance?"  
Horatio thought hard. He thought about seeing the pool of blood. That it looked normal, undisturbed.  
He finally spoke. "I don't think so."  
Natalia then called the officers into the room. "Officers, did you see anybody in the hallway?"  
"No, ma'm. Nobody was here. Did something happen?"  
"Yeah, Lt. Caine received another note in his bedroom."  
"Ma'm, I don't understand how somebody could've got inside without us knowing."  
"Natalia, there's an open window in the bedroom, so I think it may have come from outside. " Calleigh said.  
Horatio shaked his head.. He didn't know what to do or think and how the rest of this evening is gonna be like.  
"Horatio, what do you wanna do?" Natalia asked.  
"I dunno." came the reply.  
"I think that you should stay with one of us. I mean, so that you can rest up, and we'll stay awake or whatever." Natalia said.  
"Yeah that's a good idea", Calleigh agreed.  
"I don't want to put both of you in danger as well."  
"You won't. Please Horatio, we are worried about your safety."  
After much deliberation, Horatio agreed to it. That the three of them would go to Calleigh's place and take turns on guarding the place.  
"I'll call Frank as well. The more the merrier." Natalia laughed.

They arrived at Calleigh's apartment, and Frank was already sitting outside and waiting.  
"Frank." Horatio greeted.  
"So you got another threat, I understand?"  
"Yes Frank."  
"Horatio please come inside and make yourself at home." Calleigh demanded.

They all gathered inside discussing with Frank what took place and all that happened. Calleigh, Natalia and Frank decided to take turns on staying up and watching everything while one of them would always stay close to where Horatio was sleeping.  
Calleigh offered her bedroom to Horatio.. And once again he finally accepted it after much deliberation.  
The night went on and it was about 4 in the morning, when it was Calleigh's turn to stay with Horatio.  
Frank and Calleigh softly and quietly switched places, as to not wake Horatio.  
He made a move to turn onto his left side, and he groaned of the pain...  
"aaaaargh" he moaned and sat up straight, holding his shoulder carefully.  
"Horatio? Are you okay?" Calleigh asked very softly.  
"Ouch! Yeah I think so." he continue to breathe heavily because of the pain he's just caused himself.  
"It...aaah... It stings. And it's a burning sting."  
"You've probably moved too much that caused the wound to twist open or something."  
" Mm yeah think so."

Calleigh moved closer to have a better look. While she did, she noticed drops of blood seeping through his wound dressing.  
"Hang on. Let me take care of this."  
"What? Oh" Horatio felt the blood coming down his chest.  
"I'll quickly go get some new ones." and she was off into the bathroom in search of new ones.  
"Got 'em!" She came out with cottons and stuff.

Horatio gave her a terrified look.  
"You're not going to hurt me, are you?" he asked quietly.  
"No handsome, I'll never hurt you. Now you know that."  
Horatio still had his gaze on her.  
"What's the time?"  
"It's nearly 5 o'clock. Why?"  
"No reason."  
"Now lay back so that I can clean you up."  
Horatio took one deep breath, and laid back down . "Okay then."  
Calleigh gently wiped around the wound and the blood off of his chest. Horatio couldn't believe how softly she was treating him.

He knew they were best friends. And also work colleagues, he's her boss. But he maybe had more feelings for her, which nobody knew. He didn't want anybody to know. Not even Calleigh.

"Ouch!" he screamed himself out of his thoughts.  
"Oh Horatio I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too. Sorry."  
"It's okay, Calleigh."  
"Really, are you okay?"  
She looked deeply into his blue eyes. Horatio stared back into her emerald green ones.  
For what seems like ages, Calleigh finally spoke. Softly she said, "Don't you think I can see it."  
Horatio tried to break their gaze. But he couldn't manage.  
"See what?"  
"See...that everything's not okay?"  
Horatio smiled. He was scared that maybe Calleigh could see through his hidden feelings.  
"Well?"  
"I'm fine. Really."  
"If you say so." Calleigh said, and she softly kissed the top of his head.  
Confused, Horatio asked " What was that for?"  
"Nothing." she smiled.  
"Calleigh?"  
"Nothing, Handsome."  
He relaxed further to let her finish.  
"There. We're done."  
"Thank you."  
"You're welcome" she said, caressing his cheek.  
"Try going back to sleep."

"Calleigh?" Natalia interrupted, "everything okay?"  
"Yes, all is well. Horatio needed a new dressing, so I applied a new one."  
"Alright. I'm gonna leave right now to get ready for work which is in about 2 hours. Oh, and Frank is also still here.  
"Okay, thank you Nat."  
"Ms. Boa Vista."  
"Yes, Horatio?"  
"Thank you."  
"My pleasure sir! See you all at work."

Calleigh turned to Horatio.  
"Let me guess. You can't go back to sleep?"  
"Yeah, you're right. I can't. "  
Horatio sat up again attempting to get out of bed. "Do you have any pain medication? This shoulder is so painful right now."  
"Let me go see, I think I may have some in my kitchen somewhere."  
"Thanks."  
Calleigh left and this gave Horatio a chance to get dressed. He quickly shaved as well and went downstairs.  
"Morning Francis." he said as he watched a tired Frank sitting on a couch.  
"Morning Horatio. Sleep well?"  
"Not really."  
"Yeah well I guess all of us were a bit tensed and stressed. I'm glad nothing happened."  
"Me too, Frank."  
"Here you go Handsome." handing Horatio a glass of water and 2 painkillers. "Thank you ma'm."  
Frank was too tired to care about Horatio and Calleigh but he had some idea how they felt about each other.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Two weeks have past, the strange serial killer case was solved and everything seemed to be back to normal. Horatio's shoulder was almost fully healed. Only a little scar was visible.  
Everything seemed to be back to its normal self. He received no threats since the last one and nothing strange had happened since.  
It was late afternoon when Horatio was still in his office going through paperwork and crime scene documents, when there was a knock.  
"Come in. " he said, not looking up.  
"Hey Horatio."  
It was Natalia.  
"Can I help with something, Ms. Boa Vista?" he asked formally.  
"Uh, no Horatio. I just came by to see how you were doing. I mean, since that day that you've been shot, you never really.."  
"Talked to somebody.?" he finished the sentence.  
"I'm fine." he said bluntly.  
"Yes we can see that but the team is really worried about you...and..." she paused  
"And what Natalia?"  
"And Calleigh's worried too."  
Horatio lifted his head from the documents and looked at her.  
"If she was worried about me, she would've come see me."  
"Yeah I know, that's why I'm telling you. It's as if she's scared that anything will happen to you again."  
Horatio stayed silent.  
"Well I just wanted to see how you're doing. Have a good night."  
"Thank you." he said dryly and watched her leave.

Why would Calleigh be worried, he thought to himself. Does she feel the same way then? Does she have feelings for him? Horatio knew he couldn't cross the line, so he'd left it at that.  
He continued looking through the photos and documents and later fell asleep on his desk.

"Horatio..." said one voice.  
"He's fast asleep, man." another said.  
Horatio could hear voices, but they did'nt seem familiar.  
"Horatio..." said the first one again.  
Horatio couldn't seem to wake up. He couldn't open his eyes.  
"Wake up Lieutenant!" the first one said again.  
"Yeah, wake up!" the other yelled.  
This time Horatio was held captive, in what seemed like a storage place.  
"Huh.. Who's there?" Horatio asked being confused.  
"Where am.."  
"Hello Lieutenant!" the one greeted cheerfully.  
"Who are you?" Horatio asked again.  
He tried to look around. There seemed to be nothing in the room, except the three of them.  
"He doesn't seem to be awake yet, dude. Give it to him." the one guy said to the other.  
All Horatio heard was a guy fishing for something in a huge bag. He brought electrical wires, it seemed like jumper cables. And a car battery.  
Horatio panted and started worrying as the man neared with the goods.  
"No. No. ...Please. No." Horatio panted, but the man came closer still.  
His hands were held together, with his own cuffs he assumed. So he couldn't move or prevent what was coming.  
"Who are you? Maybe I can help you." he asked calmly.  
The man was now busy putting the cables on both his hands.  
"Listen to me, please. Who are you?" he tried again.  
"Now Lieutenant, we know you to not beg for anything. Or be worried. Or STRESS about anything." the man finally replied.  
"What? I don't..."  
"You'll know who we are...eventually!" said the man and he laughed hard.  
"Do it!" he urged the man with the cables.  
The man connected the one cable "Now you know how much electricity is needed to shock someone to death right? I mean, you're a scientist, right?"  
"Please." Horatio begged. "Dont do this, we can settle this another way."  
"The settling is done, Horatio."  
"What did I do to you?"  
"Don't even ask!"  
"Tell me who you are then?" Horatio yelled.  
"Do you hear this, Jimmy? This hater doesn't even know who we are."  
"Son of a bitch" and he smacked Horatio against the head.  
"Get it done, Keith." Jimmy demanded.  
Horatio watched the man closely re-connecting the cables.  
"Bye - bye Horatio!"  
"No, listen, dont...dont"  
Keith connected the final wire and the electricity surged through Horatio's body. Horatio screamed. He couldn't bear the pain. He kept on screaming and yelling at them.

"Horatio!  
Horatio! Wake up! Come on!"

It was Calleigh, and she was shaking him, trying to get him awake. "Horatio! It's just a dream. Horatio!"  
Horatio jumped up from his chair looking scared, and he was panting and breathing heavily and sweating. "What? Where? I.." he panted.  
"Horatio, you were dreaming. You're in your office. Everything' fine."  
Horatio still looked around alarmingly.  
"Horatio. Everything's fine. Calm down." she said again. It didn't seem as if he heard her.  
He looked terrified so she took him into her arms, holding him tightly. "Horatio, it's okay it's all going to be alright." She stroked his hair and rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. She could feel his heart still beating rapidly. "Shhhh it's okay."  
"Calleigh, I.."  
"It's okay Horatio, it was a dream."  
"Yeah" he breathed.  
She was still holding him close, wondering what on earth he could've dreamed about that was that bad.  
After a while she spoke.  
"Horatio?"  
"Mm?"  
"I don't mean to disrupt you. But what did you dream about?"  
Horatio sighed.  
"I...I uhm.. I'll tell you later. I don't wanna think about it now."  
Calleigh didn't push for more. She knew he would eventually tell her.  
"Okay Handsome. You just relax."  
He felt the warmth and comfort of her body against his. He eased up and let her hold him more closely, more intense.  
"Handsome...feels like you enjoy this." she whispered into his ear.  
"Mmm...its great. Thank you Calleigh."  
"You're welcome...Always.  
Do you want me to get you a cup of coffee? I mean, I would love to stand here all day, but we have to get working."  
They let each other go.  
"Yeah, oh right. Okay. Coffee would be nice, thanks."  
"Great, I'll be back in a minute."  
Calleigh left and Horatio immediately thought about that horror of a dream. What was that about, he thought. Who were the two man holding him captive? He shrugged it off and sat down on the couch, waiting for Calleigh to return.

Calleigh returned quickly with the coffee. "Hey."  
"Hey." he said back.  
"You okay now, right?"  
"Yeah feeling much better thanks. It's so nice starting the day having coffee with you."  
"Ah thank you, Handsome." she chuckled. "It wasn't as nice for me to hear you being tortured when I came here."  
She gave him a Please-Tell-Me look.  
"I uhm... I don't know where to start. I mean, I didn't get any nightmares before and now this happened."  
"What happened?" she asked.  
"Well, I guess I was held captive in... in a store room of some kind. And there were two men, named Jimmy and Keith. And uhm, well, they wanted to electrocute me...and uhm yeah, it felt real. It felt very real. "  
Calleigh knew that Horatio felt a bit rattled by all of this. However, she knew he's a strong, tough man.  
"Horatio, you've had a hard couple of weeks. "  
"Yeah. Guess so.  
Listen I'm going home for some fresh clothes. Thanks for the coffee." he said, took his keys and left.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
Horatio was still in the shower when his phone rang.  
"Caine."  
"H, we've got a scene at Coral Gambles. Male vic. "  
"I'll be right there, Frank." he said.  
He finished as quickly as possible, got in the hummer and drove fast towards the crime scene.  
He arrived at the scene, looking as cool as always.  
Removing the sunglasses, he said "Good day Frank."  
"Horatio"  
"What've we got here?"  
"Male vic. 35 years. Driver's license says he's Martin Sanders."  
"Well, what did Mr. Sanders do?"  
"Dunno, he looks like a businessman."  
Horatio left to look at the body.  
"Alexx, any cause of death?"  
"Afraid not, Horatio. I'll have to cut him open to see what's the cause. Tell you more after post."  
"Okay."  
Horatio turned and looked carefully at the scene.  
"Eric, please process carefully and keep me in the loop. "  
"Will do, H! "  
Horatio put on his sunglasses, climbed into the hummer and drove off. Back to the lab.

During the drive, he noticed something odd. Something didn't feel right. He looked around the inside of the car, but didnt see anything. He continued. After the dreadful dream, he was more careful at doing anything. Maybe Horatio was just being paranoid.

He arrived at the lab. "Hey Lieutenant. Detective Dusquene is looking for you."  
"Thank you officer."  
His phone rang.  
"Caine."  
"H, we found another body."  
"Where Eric?"  
"At today's scene, Mr. Sanders. We found the other victim in a closet. DOA obviously."  
"Okay, please process it and I'll get back to you. I'm going to the post of Sanders now."  
"Okay H."  
Horatio quickly made his way down to Autopsy. Alexx was probably finished by now.  
"Hey Alexx, find a COD?"  
"Yes Horatio, this man was strangled. With electical wires."  
Hearing the word "electrical" Horatio's mind raced, thinking about the dream again. The pain...  
"Horatio?" Alexx asked, looking at him curiously. "Did you hear me?"  
He snapped back to reality, shaking his head.  
"Yeah, I heard."  
"And then he had these funny red traces on his neck. "  
"Lipstick?"  
"It's oily, but no, not lipstick."  
"I'll take it to trace then." he said, taking a sample and walking out silently.  
"Glad too help." she said, still watching him carefully.  
That man. He can be so mysterious at times , she thought to herself.

Horatio walked past the AV lab where Ryan was at.  
"Hey Ryan, did you process the evidence that Eric sent?"  
"Yeah Horatio already done."  
"What's up?"  
"So we've found a bloody knife, that was tested against the second victim's blood. And its a match. The bloody knife also had a fingerprint, which was matched to Mr. Sanders."  
"Okay so we know who killed the victim in the closet. Who killed Mr. Sanders then?"  
"Still working on that. We have to know who the other victim is, first."  
At that moment, Calleigh stepped into the room.  
"I can help with that! It seems the second victim's name is Jason Lee.  
He worked for Mr. Sanders at an accounting firm. The motive also seems obvious, Mr. Lee kept secrets for Sanders' business. He wanted to expose Sanders, and he got killed.  
But we still have to solve Sanders' murder."  
"Wow great job, Cal!" Ryan said  
Horatio just smiled at her.  
"Good job."  
She winked at him and left.  
"Ooh H, what's with the smiling and winking?" Ryan joked.  
"What? A man can't be happy." he said and went in search of Frank.  
Ryan just chuckled.

"Hey Frank." Horatio greeted as he stepped inside the MDPD building.  
"Hello H." Frank replied.  
"Have you got anymore leads on Mr. Sanders?"  
"The Sanders case...uhm, we found nothing suspicious or strange H."  
"Alright. Thanks anyway."  
Frank nodded, and Horatio left.  
Horatio was on his way to the hummer, when his phone rang.  
"Caine."  
"Hi Handsome, please come to the lab, we caught a break."  
"Did you find the killer?"  
"In a way, yes." she said playfully.  
"You aint gonna ramble it all out on the phone, are you?"  
"You got it!" and she put the phone down.

Horatio returned to the lab.  
"What have we got?" he asked as soon as he set foot in the boardroom.  
"So, after processing all of the evidence collected " Calleigh began "we found out that Mr. Sanders also had another partner that kept his secrets, exactly like Mr Lee. Except this one is the superior to both Lee and Sanders. "  
"Did we get a name?" Horatio asked curiously.  
"Of course!" Calleigh replied.  
"We also found a faint fingerprint on Sanders neck. Which we ran through Codis and no name came up. The perp also left his DNA on Sanders neck." Ryan replied.  
"Yes and our mystery man is Mr. James Dunsfold." Calleigh finally said.  
"Good job, team." Horatio said smiling.  
"Frank let's have Patrol pick up Mr. Dunsfold."  
"You got it."  
"Calleigh, come with me to the interrogation room."  
"Okay."

They walked towards the interrogation room together.  
"So you think we've got the right guy?" Calleigh asked Horatio.  
"The evidence never lies."  
"True" and she followed Horatio inside.

" Mr. Dunsfold, my name is Lt. Caine and this is Det. Dusquene. And I'll cut to the chase. We found a partial fingerprint on this man, Mr. Sanders." and he showed Dunsfold the picture.  
"And this is DNA recovered from his neck."  
Horatio gave him a stern look.  
"Yes Lieutenant, and what does this prove? Why am I here?"  
Horatio gave him a faint smile and a stare that was very intimidating.  
"Well, if you give us your prints and DNA, we might exclude you from our investigation." Calleigh said.  
"No. This isnt gonna happen."  
"Well, we'll just get a warrant then." Horatio said.  
The suspect looked around the room and gave a massive sigh.  
"Mr. Dunsfold, we already figured out the murder... You might as..." Calleigh was interrupted.  
"Yeah yeah alright, I did it oky." he splurted out.  
"I couldn't take that he wanted to blew everything I've worked for my whole life. He just...he ruined it."  
Horatio looked at him, happy that he confessed.  
"Take him. " he told the officers.

That same evening Horatio was still up in his office finishing the documents for the district attorney. He had a pretty succesful day and they caught the killer.

The next day, he awoke in his bed, feeling good, had no nightmares, and all seemed to be good.  
Horatio got into the shower and enjoyed a super hot, relaxing shower.  
He got dressed and he heard a knock on the door.  
Being careful, he attached his gun holster and went downstairs. There was another knock. Horatio peered through the hole. It was Calleigh. Horatio was actually glad she was there, but maybe something was wrong. He opened the door.  
"Morning Handsome!" she said extra cheerily.  
"Morning Calleigh. Come inside."  
And they both moved towards the livingroom.  
"Wow, last time I was here, was when.."  
"Don't." Horatio interrupted.  
"Sorry Horatio, but you have to talk about it someday."  
"Not now, Calleigh."  
"Okay Handsome." she said looking into his eyes. "You know you could talk to me about anything right?"  
Horatio sighed and looked away.  
There was silence, until he finally spoke. "You know, this was the first time I've been shot in 12 years? And in total it's been my third time. So would you believe me that when I tell you I'm okay, I really mean it?"  
"Okay Horatio, I get your point." she said and moved to sit next to him. She took his hand in hers. "I just want you to be okay. Okay?"  
Horatio didn't respond. He was too busy getting lost into her emerald green eyes.  
He knew he couldn't cross the line, he thought to himself.  
But he couldn't resist. He had to kiss her. Everything seemed so right, so perfect. He gently put his hand on her cheek, and looked deep into her eyes and he could tell she had feelings for him.  
So, he leaned in, as did she, and their lips touched. Softly he teased her lips with his. He kissed her gently. Calleigh could not believe how soft he was treating her. "Oh Horatio" she moaned. He kissed her more. They've just deepen their kiss when Horatio's phone rang. They stopped momentarily, looking in each other's eyes. Horatio decided to answer.  
"Caine."  
"H, where are you?"  
"I'm still at home, why?"  
"Something happened at the lab, you need to get here."  
"I'm on my way."

"What's wrong Handsome?"  
"Eric said something happened at the lab. We should go." he ordered.  
Calleigh and Horatio both left, not talking about the kiss.  
"We'll talk later." Calleigh said hoping they would.  
"Yeah." he replied, smiled and drove off.

Horatio arrived at the lab. It was covered with a lot more officers than usual and crime scene tape covering his office. He also noticed the whole team waiting for him to arrive.  
"What's going on?" he asked and silence swept across the lab.  
"H, it'll be better if you go look for yourself." Eric replied.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Horatio slowly made his way to his office, with everybody in the lab watching him closely.  
He pulled off the crime scene tape and opened the door. And horror stared him in the face.  
"What the...?" Horatio gasped.  
He looked around slowly.  
There were blood everywhere. On the floor, on the wall, his desk, the computer. There was a massive death threat painted on the wall in blood which was still running down.

It read : LT. CAINE! YOUR LAST DAYS ARE NUMBERED!

Horatio then saw an envelope laying at his feet, with his name on it.  
He carefully opened the envelop, which had a photo inside and also a note.  
It was a picture of the district attorney, Ms. Nevens, covered in scrapes and blood.  
The note said:

Dear Lt. Caine,  
I know how much you like women, and like to be a hero. Let's see if you can be one and get to her in time...  
...Before I kill her! You got 2 hours!  
Anonymous

Horatio walked out. Everybody still had their eyes on the lieutenant. He rubbed his forehead, thinking hard.  
He finally spoke.  
"I uhm, I dont know whats going on here. " he said looking at everyone.  
"I need a team in here, processing the office. Swap the blood, and compare it firstly to ASA Nevens please.  
I received this photo of her. She doesn't look good. And the note said we only have two hours before he kills her."  
Everyone gasped.  
"Horatio, are you a target?" Natalia asked loudly.  
He looked down and smiled.  
"Maybe." he replied sounding confident and not scared, just like everyone knew him to be. "Lets get to work." he ordered.

Horatio was busy talking to Frank, when his phone went off.  
"Caine."  
"Lt. Caine!" the voice said.  
"Yes, with whom am I speaking?"  
"I dunno...maybe the guy that bludgeoned your office with blood."  
Horatio immediately moved to the computer guy, Martin, to have the call traced. He showed Martin with hand signs, without the caller hearing what they were doing.  
"What do you want?" Horatio growled.  
"I just want a bit attention, man."  
"Well, you got mine."  
"Yes, but I'm soon gonna have all of you!"  
And the man hanged up.  
"Did you trace it?" he asked Martin.  
"Yes sir, it came from inside the lab."  
"Inside the lab?" he asked puzzled.  
"Yes, sir."  
"It can't be."

"Horatio! Come quick! " Frank yelled.  
"What's up Frank?"  
"There's a guy outside. With a women. It looks like Nevens. Lets get out there."  
They both went outside with police officers already having the guy at gunpoint. The man also had a gun pointed at Nevens' head.  
Horatio, Eric, Frank and Calleigh emerged from the lab, joining the officers outside.  
"I want to see Horatio Caine." the man demanded.  
Horatio stepped up. "What's your name?"  
"My name? You think I'm gonna give you my name? Hahaha you can call me Carl."  
"Carl, what do you want."  
"I'll trade you."  
"Trade what?"  
"I'll give you this women, for the blondie."  
"What bl.." his words died down because he knew who Carl was talking about. It was Calleigh.  
"Over my dead body." Horatio growled.  
"Then over your dead body its gonna be." he said and pointed the gun at Horatio.  
Calleigh, Eric and Frank looked nervous.  
"Come on Lieutenant! We haven't got all day."  
"You're not getting a trade" he finally said.  
"Fine. How about I get you then?"  
"You can't take the head of the crime lab!" Calleigh yelled.  
"Ooh feisty. I can see why you like her, Horatio. Shut up, Blondie. It's you or him."  
"Then take me." Calleigh pleaded.  
"No, Calleigh! Horatio said sternly.  
"Take me." he said to Carl.  
"No Horatio!" Calleigh said with tears filling her eyes.  
Carl saw the emotional Calleigh, and thought of something else.  
"Keep your hands in the air! " he shouted at Horatio. "Keep it in the air." He moved slowly towards Horatio with Nevens still in his arms. "Help me. Horatio, help me." she pleaded.

"Shut up woman! Horatio you keep still." Carl said with the gun drawn on Horatio.  
"Come on" he said softly.  
When he was close enough to Horatio, he grabbed him by the arm and threw Nevens to the officers.  
He gripped Horatio around the neck, pressing the gun against his head.  
With his free hand, Carl searched Horatio's body for his cuffs. He finally found them in his back pocket.  
"Now, listen up officers of the law." he mocked. "Don't you dare follow me. Don't even try to track him. " he looked at Horatio.  
"Come on Horatio." he stripped him of his jacket and threw it one side. Horatio tried to make a move but Carl was fast to react. "What do you think your doing? Throw them your phone." he demanded. Horatio took the phone out of his pocket and threw it on the grass. He then finally cuffed his hands together.  
"Thats it.. Listen up officers, don't follow us...if I see a cop., any cop... I'll shoot your Lieutenant. And remember I'm not kidding." he pushed Horatio, "Let's go sunshine." they got into Horatio's hummer and Carl immediately stuck a needle in Horatio's neck and drove away with him. The fluid paralyzed him. He couldn't move or talk. He was starting to worry.

Calleigh couldn't keep herself together anymore. "Horatio..." she sobbed.  
"Calleigh, shhh...It's okay." Eric comforted "I'm sure Horatio can get out of this mess."  
She sobbed further, tears streaming from her eyes. Eric tried to comfort her, but it didn't help. Calleigh thought about Horatio. She loves him, and she never told him. She cares too much for him to get hurt again.  
"Calleigh, come on. We have to find him now."  
"Yeah.." she said.

Back in the hummer.  
"So H is what they call you these days? Huh?"  
Horatio didn't respond.  
Carl looked at him, and saw that he was staring out of the window.  
"What do you think about murderers?" Carl asked.  
Horatio gave him a filthy look and tried to turn away.  
"Mm that's what I thought." he continued. "Well, you also kill people every day. No?"  
No response.  
"I think I'm well past 20 people already." he told Horatio.  
"Who are you? Really?" Horatio finally spoke.  
"Oh, so now you wanna talk to me. Well I'll tell you anyways because at the end of the day, you won't live to tell a tale." he said and laughed.  
"My name is Joe Barry."  
Horatio's eyes widened. Joe Barry was a convicted serial killer. He is a convicted serial killer who escaped from Miami West prison, 2 years ago. They stopped searching for him, because a death certificate came up along with remains that seemed to be Joe Barry.  
Joe noticed the look on Horatio's face. He laughed.  
"Thought I was dead, weren't you?"  
He drove into a warehouse. "Well I aint, and you..." he gave Horatio a scary stare "you are gonna die like all the other bastards, for putting me in jail. It wasted 30 years of my fucking life." he shouted.  
He stopped the vehicle. Horatio noticed that there were only a limited number of stuff in the warehouse.  
Joe came to the passenger side with his gun.  
"Come on, get out! I haven't got all day."  
Horatio climbed out with Joe helping him somewhat. Joe pushed him to a chair, where he tied him up with his hands behind his back. He then duck taped Horatio's mouth. "Just to make sure, nobody hear you scream when the drugs wear off."  
Joe stood there, watching Horatio, and laughed.  
"You know...you still look tough...for now!" and laughed again.  
"I'll be back in a few..just going to get some friends of mine." he said to Horatio.

Joe finally left. For how long Horatio didn't know. He sat there all tied up. The drugs was making him wheezy. He tried so hard to stay awake and be strong.  
Horatio then suddenly thought about Calleigh. And that morning. The kiss. Oh, it was good. He knew she had feelings for him and the kiss confirmed it all.

"Hey Horatio" Joe interrupted.  
"I'd like you to meet my friends." and two other men stood behind Joe.  
Oh no, Horatio thought to himself. He's gonna get a damn beating today.  
Both men were huge. They're probably only good for beating people to death, he thought to himself.  
He tried to say "You'll never get away with this!" but it came out all muffled.  
"What's that H?" Joe mocked.  
"Hey Tommy, take the tape off his mouth."  
One of the big men came close and ripped the tape from his mouth.  
"Aaargggg." Horatio moaned.  
"What's that you said earlier?"  
"I said, you'll never get away with this. Whatever you're up to."  
"Ha, well you'll soon find out."  
"You keep making threats. Is anything gonna happen?"  
"You son of a bitch." Joe said and packed a hard punch against Horatio's cheek.  
He started to bleed.  
"Why don't you fight me like a man." Horatio growled. And Joe punched him three times more.  
Horatio now had a major cut under his left eye, sending a stream of blood down his face.  
"Do you still wanna fight me like a man?"  
"Bring it on." Horatio said.  
"You ignorant bastard. Do you think I brought you here for playtime or something?" Joe screamed.  
Horatio didn't answer.  
"I'm going to kill you! But you need to suffer first, you bastard."  
Joe said and fetched something from the table.  
"I heard you like electricity."  
Horatio's heart started racing. How can this man possibly have known about his dream. There must've been a listening device in his office or something.  
"Electricity?" Horatio said slowly.  
"Yeah, electricity. Hahaha I listened to your conversation with Ms. Dusquene that morning. You sounded scared, man. Really scared."  
No this can't be happening, Horatio thought. Not this.  
"Again, why don't you fight me like a man?" Horatio asked.  
"What? You're really scared!" Joe mocked again. "Lt. Caine of MDPD is really scared!" Joe laughed hard again.  
"Either way, I'm not gonna let you go without a good torture, Horatio."  
Horatio tried to ignore Joe and his threats.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Joe yelled.  
"What?" Horatio growled.  
Joe shaked his head.  
And he put a tazer against Horatio's neck. "You better start behaving yourself." he said with a warning tone of voice. And he pressed the button, sending 500 volts through Horatio's neck and body.

Joe released him after a minute or so. Horatio's head felt so heavy. And he had a massive headache. He was dizzy, feeling sick and his neck hurt a lot.  
"Another round Lt.?" he said  
"No.." Horatio panted but he couldn't speak clearly. "Don't...no." was all Horatio could get out.  
"Well I beg to differ." he said and tazered Horatio some more.  
"Nooooo...please ...uhh make it stop!" Horatio tried saying and screaming at Joe. But he didn't stop. He went on until Horatio passed out.  
"Oops." Joe said to his guys. "May have got a bit carried away." Punching the unconscious Horatio to the face again.

After an hour of the whole fiasco, Eric came running to Calleigh in ballistics.  
"Hey Cal, we caught a break." Eric said out of breath.  
"What is it?" she asked hopefully.  
"I think I know where that man took Horatio."  
"Where, Eric? How?"  
"That idiot didn't disconnect the second radar of the hummer. So we traced him to some warehouse in South-East Miami. There were actually two locations. That warehouse and somewhere in the glades. But I think they disposed the hummer in the glades."  
"Great, can we go."  
"Yes, I'll drive."  
Both ran like hell to the car. "C'mon Eric you need to drive fast." Calleigh rushed. "Oh my gosh, I do hope Horatio's okay." she said.  
"Yeah, me too. And listen, already called Frank for backup." he replied.

Meanwhile back at the warehouse, Horatio was just coming to.  
"Afternoon H.." Joe said.  
Horatio glared at him. He didn't felt at all well. His neck was hurting like crazy. He couldn't even rub it due to his hands still being behind his back.  
His head was also still spinning from all the shock. And he felt nauseous. Joe spoke again.  
"I'm a crazy bastard, you're probably wondering."  
Horatio shaked his head..and God, it felt painful.  
"What's that H?"  
"Nothing." he got out.  
"That's right, you just shut up and I'll spare you a little."  
Joe grabbed a chair and sat opposite Horatio. "So my boys went for lunch. And I'm stuck with you. A little one-on-one time, huh."  
"What do you want?" Horatio asked.  
"I want you, Horatio!"  
"You can't have me."  
"Already got you, you bastard."  
"What do you want with me?"  
"Revenge."  
"Why is it so hard for you to accept that I put you in prison?"  
Joe laughed.  
"Son of a bitch. It's not really about that."  
"Then what?"

Joe looked into Horatio's eyes. Horatio didn't break the stare because he can easily intimidate people by staring at them.  
"You shot my brother." Joe finally said.  
"Your brother?"  
"Yes. In front of me. At the take down. Do you remember?"  
Horatio tried to remember. It was difficult thinking cause his head still hurt.  
"You better remember.." he said  
"Honestly, I don't. I shot many people during that take down."  
"Bastard!" Joe said standing up and punched Horatio hard in the stomach, a couple of times. "You like to get hit, huh." he said giving him a final punch to the face.

Horatio spat out some blood. His lip had several cuts from these continuous beatings. "C'mon Joe, release me. Let me fight you like a man. Or are you scared?" Horatio growled.

"Excuse me? You wanna be let loose? In your dreams sunshine." Joe replied.

"So, you're a coward?" Horatio said, trying to intimidate him.

Joe squinted at Horatio. He was clearly thinking of beating him so that no one would ever recognize him again. _I could easily beat this guy. He's a cop, and they only fight with guns, _Joe thought to himself.

"Okay H. if you wanna fight me, let's go." He released Horatio's handcuffs and untied his feet. With the moment that Joe untied Horatio's feet, he kicked Joe right in the mouth. "Get some of your own, Joe." Horatio said.

"Bastard!" he yelled and things really got heated. Joe punched Horatio in the face while he countered with a fist to the stomach, causing Joe great abdominal pain. But Joe continued to swing left and right, using Horatio as a punching bag. Horatio then realized he made a mistake. Because of all the electrocutions he got, his energy levels were up to null. He had no energy and strength left fighting this guy. But he pulled through. He didn't let Joe get the benefit of the doubt. So both of them managed to trip over themselves and Horatio fell on top of Joe, trying to strangle him. Just so that he got no oxygen and pass out. But Joe's two friends returned, and immediately lifted Horatio from their boss. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh" The one shouted.

"Hang him, hang that son of a bitch." Joe panted. Horatio nearly strangled him.

So the two men tied his wrists with a rope and pulled his body up into the air, just so that his toes were still on the ground. His whole body was now being held by his wrists. Horatio still panted and breathed heavily from the fight, and it was hard getting air into his lungs due to the position he was in.

"Yeah that's right. I should've had you suffered more. From the bloody start." He said rubbing his neck.

"Yeah well, you are a killer – and killers don't think. " Horatio said sarcastically.

"Really?" he gave him a satisfying look. "Do you know what's startling? Nobody has pitched up looking for you."

Horatio didn't response.

"Hey look at me." Joe demanded. Horatio still looked down.

"I said look at me!" he yelled. Horatio looked up.

"Your brother was a lunatic and a drug addict. Am I right?" Horatio asked.

"That didn't give you a right to shoot him!" he said angrily.

"Well I did. It's in the past. Move on." He said, being annoyed with Joe.

"I'm really going to hurt you, man." He said through clenched teeth.

"You've been saying that the whole afternoon, Joe." Horatio said "Nothing's happened" he also whispered.

"That's it!" Joe said and picked up a metre in length steel pipe. "Get his shirt off, won't ya Tommy?"

"Yes Joe." Came the reply. Tommy took a knife, and sliced Horatio's shirt off. One rip. Leaving Horatio with a painfully inch deep cut in his bare chest. Horatio wanted to scream with the agonizing cut on his chest, but he decided to keep it to himself. He didn't want to give Joe any satisfaction.

"Wow, great job, Tommy." He smiled at Horatio. "I know that's painful. Why didn't you scream?"

"Why should I?" Horatio taunted.

Joe gave Horatio a massive whack with the steel pipe. "aaaaaarggh" was all that came from him. He tried to keep quiet. Joe whacked him three more times and Horatio couldn't help but letting out yelps because of the pain. "Throw some of that alcohol you bought on him" Joe said to Tommy.

"Why alcohol?" Horatio panted, struggling to get the words out.

"So you can feel the pain all the more better, my son." Joe mocked and laughed in his face. "I actually wanted to sit and chat with you, while we got drunk. But that didn't happen now, did it?"

Horatio looked back down. He swore that one of his ribs was broken, cause his torso was in so much pain.

Tommy finally returned with five bottles of Vodka in his massive hands. And he threw about three bottles out on Horatio. The alcohol seeped into Horatio's wounds and everything felt on fire. The pain got worse, the cuts were burning like crazy and it didn't smell nice at all.

Calleigh and Eric, meanwhile, had been stuck in traffic. "Eric, I can't sit here any longer. How far away is it?"

"5 miles" came the reply.

"Oh my God. I'll run that. C'mon." she said, not waiting for a reply. Eric and Calleigh sprinted to the warehouse, taking them approximately fifteen miutes.

Back at the warehouse.

"Ooooh you know what'll be good, Horatio?" Joe asked.

"You being shocked some more!" he said and laughed.

Horatio couldn't stand it anymore. He already had been tazered twice. And each time he was in more pain and had no energy or muscle left. And Horatio was drenched in alcohol, which means the shock was going to be more painful.

At that moment the warehouse door opened, and Calleigh and Eric emerged from outside.  
"Put your hands in the air!" Calleigh shouted. "Get away from him!"  
Horatio felt a sign of relief but it wasn't over yet.  
"Oooh Blondie arrived." Joe said playfully.  
"Shut up, and put your hands in the air." she yelled again.  
Calleigh and Eric moved slowly closer to where Horatio and Joe was.  
"Come closer, and I'll taze him again" he said, getting the tazer from his pocket and putting it against Horatio's head.  
"Drop it.!" Eric yelled.  
"I'll taze him."  
Eric shot, but he missed.  
"Oh my word. You can't even shoot somebody." he said annoyingly. You'll like this, blondie." he said and tazed Horatio against the neck. Horatio couldn't bear the pain anymore. It was ten times worse than before. Tears were rolling down his face. "No, okay. Please stop! " Calleigh yelled.  
Joe stopped. Horatio's breathing was unbearably hard and his neck hurt so much. The pain in his head was unbearable. "Just so you know, that was his third shock for today. I'm surprised that he didn't get a heart attack yet."  
"Stop please stop! Don't do this." Calleigh begged.  
"Then drop your weapons, lady."  
"Eric... Please." she said to Eric.  
"No.." Horatio panted.  
By this time Joe had his gun pointed at the two CSIs.  
"Shoot him!" Horatio tried saying.  
Eric drew his gun on Joe again.  
"No Eric, he'll .." Calleigh tried saying.  
Joe pointed the gun at Horatio.

"You've heard of the chain reaction, yeah? You shoot me, I'll shoot him."  
"Eric!" Horatio yelled. "Shoot!" The pain in his body was getting worse, he needed to move, to get into another position.  
Eric decided to shoot. He shot Joe in the chest. At that moment Joe let a shot off. "Aaaaarrrghhh!" Horatio screamed. "Nooo " Calleigh yelled.  
"You son of a bitch " Joe said as he gave his last breath.  
Eric and Calleigh rushed to Horatio's side. "Oh shit, Horatio got shot. "  
"Where Calleigh?" Eric said trying to look.

"I dunno."  
Horatio breathed heavily, the pain was getting worse.  
Calleigh tried to touch him to see where the bullet entered.  
"Don't." Horatio panted, closing his eyes. "Don't... touch me." He said breathlessly.  
"Horatio? I have to see where.."  
"Just... don't touch me."

She looked carefully at his body. It was all covered in blood, until she saw a hole in his pants, above his left knee. "Got it, he's been shot just above the knee."

"Is it serious?" Eric asked.

"No, doesn't look like it."  
"Eric have you called for an ambulance yet?" she asked.  
"Already done."  
"Horatio, please let me.."  
"No." he said with tears rolling down his face. "Oh Horatio, please." she begged. "I won't hurt you any ..."  
"I said no!" he cried.  
More tears rolled down his face.

"Lets's untie him okay" Calleigh said to Eric. She was confused as to why he won't let her touch him. Eric got a knife out of his pocket and he started to cut Horatio's hands free. Calleigh stood in front of Horatio to catch him, in case he fell over. "Okay H, you're almost loose, okay." He said to let Horatio know when to stand up properly. Horatio nodded. Eric finished and Horatio could stand, but because he had no strength left, he fell to his knees. Calleigh tried to grab him, but it happened too fast.

"Horatio" she said looking very worried.

Horatio turned around and he laid on his back. Trying to breathe calmly, he just laid still with his eyes closed.

Calleigh looked at Eric.

"Horatio?" she tried again. "Are you okay?" and she kneeled next to him.

No response.

So Calleigh almost got on top of him, for him to see her. She then forced him to look at her.

"Listen," she said holding back the tears, " I wanna help you. Please let me help you." And a few more tears streamed from his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Horatio didn't want to face Calleigh. Calleigh looked at him. She wanted to cry but also wanted to stay strong for Horatio' sake.  
"Horatio " she said softly and gently took away a strand of red hair from his forehead.  
He still didn't look at her. "Hey it's okay Horatio." She said calmly. "It's me Calleigh."

He finally opened his eyes. Bright, crisp and blue like the ocean. "Hey there, Handsome." She said smiling to him and wiping the remaining tear from his face.

Horatio just stared into Calleigh's eyes.

"May I please see if your leg is going to be fine?" she asked, expecting him to say no again.

Horatio just nodded, knowing that Calleigh wouldn't hurt him and that he can trust her. For a brief moment that Eric shot Joe, Horatio had so much pain covering his body that he didn't wanted anyone to touch him. They would've made it worse. But now he was starting to calm down, and he trusted Calleigh.

She got a knife from Eric and cut his pants open, above his left knee. "Eric, did you see a bullet laying around?"

"No, why?" he asked puzzled.

"The bullet just grazed Horatio's thigh. There's no extensive damage."

"That's good" he said looking for the bullet. "Hang on, found it!" he said, picking it up about 20 feet from where Horatio was laying. "Hey, and the paramedics also arrived." He told her.

Calleigh still stayed with Horatio. He was now letting her hold his hand.

"Where's the victim?" the paramedic asked.

"There's no victim." Calleigh said angrily. "Lt. Caine needs to be checked out."

"Don't worry, Horatio. I'm coming with you." She said looking down to him.

"Thank you." Horatio spoke for the first time.

They got Horatio and Calleigh in the ambulance and took them to the hospital.

"Wow, two visits in three weeks Lt.?" the doctor joked as he was finished with Horatio.

"And it'll be my last, doctor." He replied dryly and walked to the waiting room while the doctor wanted to talk to Calleigh alone.

"Miss Dusquene. Firstly, he will be having nightmares about this, he's a little traumatized. We also examined his heart, there's no damage from the electrocutions he got. Which surprised us all. He's clearly a very strong person. " the doctor said.

Calleigh nodded. "Thank you, doctor. "

She was just about to walk out when he said "And Miss. Dusquene, take care of him. You two make the perfect couple." Calleigh laughed. "Thank you" and she went to get Horatio.

While they were driving, Horatio sat there, staring out of the window, trying not to think about what happened to him in the last 24 hours.

"Horatio, we are at your place." Calleigh said.

"Oh, right." He said and climbed out of the hummer.

They both got to the door, while Calleigh unlocked it for him and they went inside.

Horatio collapsed on the sofa and let out a massive sigh.

"Horatio?"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"I think so."

Calleigh went to sit down next to him. Holding his hand tightly, she said "I can take care of you."

He smiled. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what, Handsome?"

He sighed again. "Sorry for not letting you touch me to help me."

"Aah it's okay, Horatio. I understand. My God, you were in pain, and I didn't think about it when I went near you."

"I'm still sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. Don't apologize."

She caressed his cheek with her one hand, holding him in the another. "It's okay." She said again looking into his eyes. She then kissed him , softly, on the lips.

"Hmm, I like that" he said.

"You're so cheeky at times!" she said kissing him again.

"Calleigh." He breathed into her neck.

"Yes, Handsome?"

"Will you please stay with me? I don't want to be alone tonight." He asked.

She pulled back to look at him.

"Of course, Handsome" and she gave him a bright smile.

"Thanks." He said kissing her this time. He stopped, but she continued kissing him along the jaw and in his neck, touching his leg.

"OUCH" Horatio yelled.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize which leg that was." She said and both of them started laughing.

"You okay?" she asked after a while.

"Just as long as you're here" he said and he kissed her on her cheek.

THE END


End file.
